Local family survives Philippine typhoon

Trenie Versoza shows a photo of the area inside of the Sabin Resort in Ormoc City, Leyte in the Phillipines after the recent super typhoon hit the town. The room is where Versoza's sister and her husband had held their wedding reception the night before the storm.

Published: Sunday, November 24, 2013 at 6:10 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, November 24, 2013 at 6:10 p.m.

A family wedding is an unforgettable event, but for a local family it was a once-in-a lifetime experience that almost cost them their lives.

Trenie Versoza, who lives in Lexington, was in Ormoc City in the province of Leyte in the Philippines on Nov. 8 when one of the worst typhoons in history hit the hotel where her sister had been married mere hours before.

“It was a beautiful wedding,” Versoza said. “We were laughing, dancing and having the best of times. We all left the reception hall around 1 a.m. and went to bed. The typhoon was not supposed to hit us.”

She credits the actions of her new brother-in-law, Benny Bennedict, for rescuing her family from the Sabin Resort Hotel and keeping them safe during an unfathomable natural disaster.

Versoza, who was born in the Philippines, said typhoons are a fairly normal occurrence, and most residents rarely take them very seriously. But they were not expecting the magnitude of the destructive forces when Typhoon Haiyan barreled into the Philippines bringing winds as high as 190 mph.

Bennedict, who lives in Thomasville, woke about 4:30 a.m. when he heard a loud whistling sound coming from the window of his third-floor room.

“I thought that maybe the sliding glass door was cracked, but when I drew back the curtains and the trees were at a 90-degree angle, I knew we had to get out of there,” Bennedict said.

He grabbed his bride and hustled her across the hall where Versoza and other wedding guests were huddled. Things began to deteriorate quickly when the latch on the door to the hallway broke. Bennedict threw his body weight against the door to keep the winds away. He held it closed through sheer will for over an hour while thinking about how to get 23 people out of that room.

“If he hadn’t held that door closed, we would have all been blown away,” Versoza said. “He saved all of us.”

Soon the exterior roof of the hotel was blown away, leaving only a flimsy plywood cover as protection. Bennedict, who has previously served in the Air Force, knew it was time to move. He came up with a plan to use the emergency fire hose as a rope to get down the hall to the first floor.

“Someone had to do something because I knew we couldn’t stay there,” Bennedict said.

In one of the many miracles to follow, as soon as Benedict reached the fire hose, the winds suddenly stopped. Not questioning his luck, Bennedict began herding the family consisting mostly of women down the fire escape to the first floor. When Versoza finally reached her mother’s room, she was shocked to find her still asleep. Christie Bennedict said that the strange thing was as soon as they reached the safety of the first floor, the second wave of the storm hit, and the winds blew even harder for the next several hours.

As soon as the storm was over, Bennedict and his nephew walked the two miles to the Versoza home to check on the other wedding guests. He said he didn’t have much hope when he was making the trip, but miraculously the house was still standing. Assured that everyone was OK, Bennedict cleared a path through the debris so the nephew could take his motorcycle back to the hotel. Over the next several hours, the two men walked the two-mile journey dozens of times to transport Versoza and her family back to the house.

“He got blisters all over his feet from walking back and forth so many times,” Versoza said. “He was carrying their suitcases so they could ride.”

But once they were all safe together, they had 32 people in one house with no running water, no food, no electricity and no toilet. Bennedict began to scavenge for anything he could, including lining up for hours just to bring back 5 gallons of water. A day later, Bennedict and Versoza took the boat to Cebu where they stocked up on supplies and disguised it as luggage because looting had reached a fevered level at that time. When they finally arrived back at the family home, they split the provisions into equal portions and began distributing them.

For Bennedict, the worst part was when he had handed out his last bag of food, and a woman with two children asked him for help.

“She asked me what about her, and I didn’t have an answer,” Bennedict said. “I couldn’t even pull out my wallet and give her some cash. I knew then we had reached the end. It was time to go home.”

Bennedict contacted the airline the next day and booked tickets for them all to return to the United States.

For Versoza, it was an experience that still haunts her, but she is thankful that her family survived and that her brother-in-law was there to protect them. Bennedict objects to being portrayed as a hero because he believes he only did what anyone would do.

“You do what you have to do for family,” he said. “The wedding was great, but the honeymoon sucked.”

Sharon Myers can be reached at 249-3981, ext, 228 or at sharon.myers@the-dispatch.com.

<p>A family wedding is an unforgettable event, but for a local family it was a once-in-a lifetime experience that almost cost them their lives.</p><p>Trenie Versoza, who lives in Lexington, was in Ormoc City in the province of Leyte in the Philippines on Nov. 8 when one of the worst typhoons in history hit the hotel where her sister had been married mere hours before.</p><p>“It was a beautiful wedding,” Versoza said. “We were laughing, dancing and having the best of times. We all left the reception hall around 1 a.m. and went to bed. The typhoon was not supposed to hit us.” </p><p>She credits the actions of her new brother-in-law, Benny Bennedict, for rescuing her family from the Sabin Resort Hotel and keeping them safe during an unfathomable natural disaster. </p><p>Versoza, who was born in the Philippines, said typhoons are a fairly normal occurrence, and most residents rarely take them very seriously. But they were not expecting the magnitude of the destructive forces when Typhoon Haiyan barreled into the Philippines bringing winds as high as 190 mph.</p><p>Bennedict, who lives in Thomasville, woke about 4:30 a.m. when he heard a loud whistling sound coming from the window of his third-floor room.</p><p>“I thought that maybe the sliding glass door was cracked, but when I drew back the curtains and the trees were at a 90-degree angle, I knew we had to get out of there,” Bennedict said. </p><p>He grabbed his bride and hustled her across the hall where Versoza and other wedding guests were huddled. Things began to deteriorate quickly when the latch on the door to the hallway broke. Bennedict threw his body weight against the door to keep the winds away. He held it closed through sheer will for over an hour while thinking about how to get 23 people out of that room.</p><p>“If he hadn't held that door closed, we would have all been blown away,” Versoza said. “He saved all of us.”</p><p>Soon the exterior roof of the hotel was blown away, leaving only a flimsy plywood cover as protection. Bennedict, who has previously served in the Air Force, knew it was time to move. He came up with a plan to use the emergency fire hose as a rope to get down the hall to the first floor.</p><p>“Someone had to do something because I knew we couldn't stay there,” Bennedict said.</p><p>In one of the many miracles to follow, as soon as Benedict reached the fire hose, the winds suddenly stopped. Not questioning his luck, Bennedict began herding the family consisting mostly of women down the fire escape to the first floor. When Versoza finally reached her mother's room, she was shocked to find her still asleep. Christie Bennedict said that the strange thing was as soon as they reached the safety of the first floor, the second wave of the storm hit, and the winds blew even harder for the next several hours.</p><p>As soon as the storm was over, Bennedict and his nephew walked the two miles to the Versoza home to check on the other wedding guests. He said he didn't have much hope when he was making the trip, but miraculously the house was still standing. Assured that everyone was OK, Bennedict cleared a path through the debris so the nephew could take his motorcycle back to the hotel. Over the next several hours, the two men walked the two-mile journey dozens of times to transport Versoza and her family back to the house. </p><p>“He got blisters all over his feet from walking back and forth so many times,” Versoza said. “He was carrying their suitcases so they could ride.”</p><p>But once they were all safe together, they had 32 people in one house with no running water, no food, no electricity and no toilet. Bennedict began to scavenge for anything he could, including lining up for hours just to bring back 5 gallons of water. A day later, Bennedict and Versoza took the boat to Cebu where they stocked up on supplies and disguised it as luggage because looting had reached a fevered level at that time. When they finally arrived back at the family home, they split the provisions into equal portions and began distributing them. </p><p>For Bennedict, the worst part was when he had handed out his last bag of food, and a woman with two children asked him for help.</p><p>“She asked me what about her, and I didn't have an answer,” Bennedict said. “I couldn't even pull out my wallet and give her some cash. I knew then we had reached the end. It was time to go home.”</p><p>Bennedict contacted the airline the next day and booked tickets for them all to return to the United States. </p><p>For Versoza, it was an experience that still haunts her, but she is thankful that her family survived and that her brother-in-law was there to protect them. Bennedict objects to being portrayed as a hero because he believes he only did what anyone would do.</p><p>“You do what you have to do for family,” he said. “The wedding was great, but the honeymoon sucked.”</p><p>Sharon Myers can be reached at 249-3981, ext, 228 or at sharon.myers@the-dispatch.com.</p>